Strategic Management

Concept and importance of strategic management; evolution of strategic management;elements of strategic management; strategic management process; need for strategy;levels of strategy; concept and features of strategic planning; concept of vision; missionand objectives; roles of information in strategic management.

Concept of environment (internal and external); Techniques of external environment analysis: PESTLE analysis, ETOP, scenario planning, competitors analysis, Techniques of internal analysis: value chain analysis, comparative analysis (historical comparison, industry standards, benchmarking), strategic advantage profile (SAP) and financial analysis; SWOT analysis for strategies; environmental analysis for strategic management.

Strategy formulation: concept and importance; Generating strategic options: corporate strategy, business strategy and functional strategy; Strategic alternatives at corporate level (stability strategy, growth strategy, retrenchment strategy, combination strategy);Strategic alternatives at business level (Porter’s competitive strategy, strategic clock- oriented market based generic strategies); Strategies at functional level ( marketing strategy, financial strategy, operation strategy, human resource management strategy and research and development strategy); Direction for strategy development (Consolidation, market penetration, product development, market development, diversification); Methods of strategy development (Internal development method, acquisition and merger method, joint development and strategic alliances method) ; Portfolio analysis for strategic choice(BCG matrix, GE Business Screen, Hofer’s Matrix).

Concept and meaning of strategy implementation; organizational structure and its types for strategy implementation (simple, functional, multidivisional, SBU, holding company, Project based, team based structure); process of strategy implementation; strategic leadership; requirements for strategy implementation: structure, resources and management system.

Concept of strategic evaluation and control; strategic audit; strategic information system;difference between strategic and operational control; types of strategic control andevaluation; guidelines for proper control and evaluation; roles of information in strategicevaluation and control.